While being “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, Rahul Gandhi met and posed for photographs with George Ponnaiah, the Catholic priest who demeaned Bhumi Devi and made fun of Hindus by stating that “they can’t even pluck a hair of Christians,” during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Yesterday, images of Rahul Gandhi meeting the virulently anti-Hindu Kanyakumari Catholic priest on his latest publicity stunt, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, circulated on social media.

Rahul Gandhi appears to have lived at a facility run by the Kottar diocese, where he had encounters with George Ponnaiah and other Catholic priests. On social media, a video of his discussion with them regarding whether or not Jesus is a god has surfaced. The priest’s contempt for Hindu gods is evident even there. George Ponnaiah responds, “Jesus is the only real God,” to Rahul’s query about whether Jesus is a manifestation of God. Not like this strength or Shakti. He mocks Hinduism and violates Dharma by acting as if he were a god in the flesh.

When George Ponnaiah’s video ridiculing Hindu gods and wishing PM Modi and Amit Shah a terrible death appeared on social media last year, it made headlines. George Ponnaiah, the parish priest of Pannavilai in Kanyakumari under the Diocese of Kottar, participated in an event held in Arumanai, Kanyakumari, to protest the closing of churches, the prohibition on holding prayer meetings, the denial of permission to build churches and to pay respects to Naxal sympathizer Stanislaus Lourdusamy.
He insulted Hindu deities and beliefs while making fun of BJP politician MR Gandhi, a Kanyakumari MLA. Gandhi is not advocating for stomping on Bharat Mata while wearing chappals, he claimed. He said, “we wear shoes because we don’t want to get dirty from Bharat Mata’s impurity. In order to prevent parasites from Bhooma Devi, the TN government gives out free chappals. Bhooma Devi is a perilous individual. She’ll expose you to psoriasis and parasites. You should wear chappals because of this.”

He further threatened Hindus by claiming that the Christian population in Kanyakumari has increased from 42% to 62% and is now the majority. He said, “We’ll grow to 70% in a few days and we will continue to grow. You cannot stop us. I want to issue this as a warning to our Hindu brethren. You cannot even pluck a single hair”, he said. He didn’t leave the much-abused Brahmins either. He derided the archakas of Hindu temples saying “Don’t think pastors are just like those pujaris who ring the bell. We are well educated.”

Last year, Hindus in Kanyakumari boycotted buying milk from Catholic church-owned dairy facilities. The pastor George Ponnaiah had denigrated Hindu deities, Bharat Mata, PM Modi, and HM Amit Shah. After suffering significant losses, the dairy company’s administration released a statement stating that pastor George Ponnaiah is in no way connected to the business.

Hindus were challenged by Pastor George Ponnaiah of the Pannaivilai parish to try to stop the Christian community from expanding after he spoke in a very derogatory way about Hindu deities and Bharat. He was taken into custody by the police as a result of several complaints being filed throughout the state and huge protests. Meanwhile, the presence of such a hinduphobic personality who doesn’t refrain from spewing venom against Hindus is made part of Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo yatra”. Is it really “Bharat Jodo yatra” or it is “Bharat Todo Yatra?

DISCLAIMER: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The author carries the responsibility for citing and/or licensing of images utilized within the text.